2012 Report on Cms in North America

CMS Distribution: General CONVENTION ON UNEP/CMS/COP11/Inf.40 MIGRATORY 25 September 2014 SPECIES Original: English 11th MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES Quito, Ecuador, 4-9 November 2014 Agenda Item 12.2 2012 REPORT ON CMS IN NORTH AMERICA For reasons of economy, documents are printed in a limited number, and will not be distributed at the Meeting. Delegates are requested to bring their copy to the meeting and not to request additional copies. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Secretariat provided by the United Nations Environment Programme 2012 Report on CMS in North America (Washington, D.C). Contents I. Introduction & Background II. Overview of Accomplishments Goal 1:Mobilize Resources for CMS Goal 2: Raise Awareness and Understanding aboutCMS Goal 3: Build Political Support for CMS in the U.S. Goal 4: Partnership Development and Engagement Goal 5: General Support to CMS Secretariat III. Conclusion: Strategic Directions and Next Steps for 2013 Appendix 1: Detailed List of Resource Mobilization Efforts Appendix 2: List of Outreach/Organizations Contacted Appendix 3: Outreach and Networking Activities Appendix 4: Partnerships and Collaboration I INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND This report outlines the CMS Washington Officer’srole, activities and accomplishments over the first year, 2012. The CMS Washington post was discussed at the 10 th Conference of the Parties (COP10). In Resolution 10.1, Parties expressed concern about the recruitment of the officer and instructed the Standing Committee to review, at its 40th Meeting, fundraising income generated by the post, and not renew it if it does not yield income equal to at least two times the annual salary allocated in the budget, and to transfer the 2013-2014 salary costs to the Trust Fund. The Washington Officer must, therefore, have raised two times the annual salary being Euro 42,500, the equivalent of approximately $110,000. With a United States (U.S.)contribution of $100,000 in 2012, in addition to the $100,000 that was already pledged by the US Government at the donors’ meeting at the margins ofCOP10, this means thata total of $200,000 was received from the US State Department, via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for the implementation of the Sharks MOU. The target set by COP for continuation of the post was almostachieved by the extra $100,000 received. Funding proposals submitted in 2012 (to the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI) for ~$70,000, and to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for ~$205,000) are still awaiting, hopefully, positive results. UNEP/CMS Secretariat *UN Campus *Platz der VereintenNationen 1 * 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel (+49 228) 815 2401 * Fax (+49 228) 815 2449 * E-mail: [email protected] * Website: www.cms.int It is noted that other funding opportunities(as detailed later in this report) were pursued, however without success. Further, in-kind support from non-governmental organizations resulting from informal solicitations by the Officer usually goes directly to partner organizations’ activities and is difficult to measure as dollars raised by the Washington Officer. However, these efforts have all been useful in promoting CMS in the region. Why Washington, DC and UNEP/RONA? Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States and the seat of the American federal government. A Washington presence (the Washington Officer) helps CMS gain access to U.S. government agencies, such as the Agency for International Development, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Forest Service (USFS) to name a few. All have international conservation programs and some already support CMS and have potential to provide much more support for CMS activities in the future. Washington is,in addition,the headquarters of many inter-governmental organizations, foundations, scientific and academic institutions, major corporations, influential international NGOs and international bodies like the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, and the Global Environment Facility. Having the Washington Officer posted here provides CMS with access to these organizations and to representatives who visit from around the world.The Officer engages with these representatives at meetings, workshops and specialevents, and thus helpspromote the mission of CMS both globally and regionally. The Future Vision as described in the CMS Strategic Plan 2006-2014 is ‘A world which understands, respects and sustains the phenomenon of animal migration as a unique part ofour shared natural heritage’ . Bringing major countries like the U.S., Canada and Mexico on as parties to CMS to share in that strategic vision would be a helpful way to support the implementation of the CMS Strategic Plan globally. To achieve this goal, CMS needs to raise awareness about its mission, increase understanding about its programs and family of agreements, and build trusted working relationships across both governmental and non- governmental organizations in North America. This goal has not and cannot be successfully achieved solely from Bonn. Regular, in-person contact is needed to achieve such a vision. UNEP and a number of other UN organizations recognize the importance of having an office or representative in Washington. A significant plus is the strategic location of this Officerin UNEP’s Regional Office for North America (RONA) which helps to align CMS more closely with UNEP regional activities. RONA’s Regional Director has advised CMS Washington-based consultants in the past (2008-2010), is very supportive of CMS activities in the region and helps CMS in high level political debates with the Washington Officer paving the way for such appearances. In addition to promoting and raising awareness about CMS, and building partnerships with Washington-based entities, the Washington Officer helps to manage the relationship between CMS, the CMS Family, other MEAs and the UNEP regional office, as called for in CMS Resolution 10.9 (Activities2 and 8) of the Future Shape document. 2 Benefits of Sharing Officerwith UNEP and Description of Duties The CMS North American Focal Pointis a P2 levelofficershared evenly between CMS and UNEP RONA (i.e. this is a half-timeofficerfor CMS). For CMS, the Officerraises the visibility of CMS in North America and helps build political support for the Convention whilstalso mobilizing resources for the implementation of CMS resolutions.For RONA, the Officerfulfills activities under UNEP’s ecosystem management sub-programme, currently coordinated in UNEP through the Division of Environment and Policy Implementation (DEPI) by Elizabeth Mrema, CMS Acting Executive Secretary. Previously, part-timeconsultants have served as North Americanfocal points for CMS and were based at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) headquarters. However, they lacked day-to-day supervision, a senior CMS or UNEP official to support them liaising with the U.S. authorities, and connection with the CMS Family. UNEP’s Regional Director provides day-to-day supervision of the current Officer, and the co-location has the added benefit of sharing office spacewith other UNEP staff, including GEF’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), the UNEP Division of Environment and Policy Implementation and the UNEP Division on Early Warning and Assessment. Such proximity facilitatesinformation exchange across GEF programs and with UNEPas a whole.For example, the Officer attended the GEF STAP bi-annual meeting, provided comments on a STAP technical report, and made informal recommendations to the GEF 6 Formulation. In her RONA capacity, the Officer also attended a 3-day GEF familiarization training which will benefit future CMS GEF proposals as well as relationship building and implementation of CMS Resolution 10.25 (Enhancing Engagement with the Global Environment Facility) related to future GEF funding and conservation of migratory species. Other benefits of officer-sharing include overlapping portfolios whereby CMS activities dovetail withUNEP’s Programme of Work. For example, for RONA, the Officer coordinates activities for the CBD Spain-UNEP LifeWeb project on the conservation of marine mammal areas in the Eastern Pacific and Wider Caribbean region. This simultaneously connects CMS to this project and with countries in that region. One specific activity is the development of a new, regional network to connect marine mammal experts/managers all along the North and South East Pacificmarine mammal corridors. CMS may potentially provide a useful institutional framework under which to form this network. Although several countries in the region are already contracting Parties to CMS there is still quite a number that have not joined, and through this project CMS is promoted which could lead to more accessions in the near future. II Overview of Accomplishments In year one (2012), the Washington Officer’s major goals and activities were focused on building support for CMS in the U.S. Major goals for year one included to assist with: 1) Mobilizing Resources for CMS; 2) Raising awareness and understanding about CMS; 3 3) Building political support for CMS in the U.S.; 4) Engaging partners and exploring new partnership opportunities; and 5) Providing general support to CMS. Details of accomplishments are provided under those goals below. Goal One: Mobilize Resources for CMS Fundraising Approach Raising

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